On four-letter codes,epithets and the humor-impaired

I took my first broadside on this four-letter code business
over a year ago, when a total stranger e-mailed me out of the
blue, using big,nasty words I normally save for Republicans.

The 4-letter code system was designed for data input. It is,
believe it or not, easier to use if you are collecting large
amounts of data in the field and/or putting large amounts of data
into a computer. You see, we can teach our computers new things
and they never complain. Birders are a different animal. I
remember the junco lump of '76. Talk about hew and cry.

The four-letter code is our friend, like the computer,the
microwave oven and Kowa telescopes, 4-letter codes are a tool
designed to make our lives easier. But, just as microwave ovens
may cause some people's hearts to stop, so, it would seem,
4-letter codes cause apoplectic seizures. Perhaps warning labels
should be required.

For those who missed it earlier, the file transfer protocol (ftp)
site for the official United States Fish and Wildlife (USFW) codes
which are standard for the National Biological Service (NBS)
also known as (aka) National Biological Survey (NBS), the ones
which, it seems, we will never be asked to use, because there are
Republicans in Washington, District of Columbia (DC), who feel
that volunteers are not emotionally mature enough to handle
objective science, the ftp site is:

ftp.im.nbs.gov/pub/data/cbc/trends/aou.lis

For those who don't like the code...lighten up. For those who
use it, be polite and remember e-mail is for communication.
There's not much point in writing in Chechewa if the room's
full of Bruneiese. If you know what I mean.





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* Mike Patterson, Astoria, OR *
* mpatters at ednet1.osl.or.gov *
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